Friday, November 25, 2011

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!! I know we sure did. Surrounded by family, amazing food and Packer football!! A win over the Lions just put the cherry on top of the sundae! I also got to run a 5 mile Turkey Trot here in my own neighborhood, so it was great!

It has been so long since I have updated my blog! So many things are happening right now it's crazy! On top of the list is that I am in the process of training once again! I am so lucky to have the opportunity to get to run in the Surf City Half Marathon on February 5, 2012 with my husband and also my running coach, Rob! Surf City is in Huntington Beach, California and runs all along the ocean! This, my friends, is a Bucket List opportunity and I am working hard to make the absolute best of my training so I can have a positive and amazing experience!

Of course, with the race being in February, that means that I will be training in the snow, ice, sleet, rain and cold of Wisconsin for the next several months. Learning how to layer and dress appropriately is always a challenge and that has been a big one so far. I have been lucky that we have only had one snowfall so far and that forced me to hit the treadmill . I was too afraid of falling, so I have some Yak Tracks on the top of my Christmas list this year.

With all of the stomach issues I have continued to have over the past two years, I have finally started moving in what we hope to be a positive direction. My coach has helped me with so much and part of that is working with Kim, a sports nutritionist. She is amazing and has shown me all of the things I have been doing wrong when I thought I was doing everything right! I never understood exactly how big of a role nutrition plays in something like running because I had never been that kind of a runner! Never thought I would run 5 miles let alone run a half marathon or quicken my pace like I have over the past couple of months that Rob has been training me. So we are working diligently on trying to get this all figured out so that I can run in California without worrying about getting sick. I write down everything I eat and categorize it, making sure I am taking in enough calories and enough of the right kind. To be honest, it can be a royal pain in the ass trying to relearn something you thought you had down pat, like eating. I mean, who doesn't know how to do that?? Apparently, I don't and so it is baby steps and a bit of a tedious task, but it will be well worth it in the end.

We plan to represent Team SJS in California amongst the thousands of runners on that Super Bowl Sunday. I will proudly wear my team shirt and run with my family and friends who have supported my every step in my heart and in my mind. Maybe I'll have the opportunity to educate some people along the way as well. But for now, I keep plugging along with every workout, speed session, yoga session, meditation and long run to keep building upon what I have regained so far. I'll try and keep this updated along the way, just in case you might be interested. Or better yet, inspired, even a little bit, to reach for something you never thought you could touch. If I can do it, anyone can!

This is a blog about my life after Stevens Johnson Syndrome, a very devastating illness. I truly believe this is my purpose in life, to get the word out. This is my new life! I've trained for and completed my first half marathon and now plan to run it every year until I can no longer take another step! This is about my training, my goals, my triumphs and my failures! It really is true what they say, "life goes on!" Well, here I go!!